Fire & Ice
by bythefireside
Summary: Sarah returns from the Labyrinth. Sarah thought that she was done with the Labyrinth after defeating Jareth, but that was really only the beginning, and she returns for a new adventure.
1. Chapter 1

** Chapter 1**

"_There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming __grief__...and unspeakable love.__"_

He was so cold. He hated the fact that he couldn't control his own body as his jaw chattered uncontrollably. Damn his weakness. The wind was cruel; it whipped angry swirls of snow past him, and against him, lashing as effectively as a whip. Groaning he forced himself to his feet, stumbling a bit as the wind pushed against him before he regained his balance. It was dark but still so bright, the moon reflecting off the icy white landscape, softly glaring. He was numb.

Not just from the cold; but from realizing he was in Gicaz, the barren ice land that served as a border to his world, a place of exile. All he remembered was falling, and, his lips becoming a thin line at the memory, her damning words. The words were simple, a few sentences really, but they had changed the fate of a king.

_A king..._He thought almost hysterically, _of what? He was a king without a kingdom, a king without a Queen._

"Sarah." Jareth wasn't sure if he thought her name or spoke it aloud. Even though she had betrayed him, taken his words and thrown them back at him, he found comfort in just thinking of her, of her defiant eyes and smug smiles. There was so much about her that he had wanted to discover, he had wanted to see more of her faces, to see what she looked like in love, in ecstasy.

For a moment he forgot everything but her, forgot that he was in this banished wasteland, forgot that she had rejected him and imagined what it would have been like to love her. He held her so briefly at the ball, and it had been such a simple embrace but it had made him feel content, happier than anything had in centuries.

His face felt cold suddenly, so he brought his gloved hands to his face to warm it and was surprised to find his cheeks wet. He stared at his damp gloves for a moment before it registered to him that he was looking at his tears. He felt disgusted at himself, what was he, a child?

'You have no power over me' she had said, _but you have so much power over me_ he mused as he continued slowly trudging forward, his elaborate owl feathered coat providing little warmth. He drew on his power to change his clothes and then to leave this dratted place, annoyed that he hadn't thought of it immediately, that his thoughts had immediately gone to Sarah instead. His waited a moment, his brows drawn in confusion when nothing happened.

He reached out, searching for his stream of power, for his connection to the Labyrinth, to the Underground. His body was clenched, reaching for his magic only to find a thread remaining, like everything had been severed. He gasped, chocking at the pain that came as soon as he acknowledged his missing magic. The pain made him bow over, clutching himself. His magic was not just a thing, or a tool, it was an essential part to him, as natural as the blood flowing in his veins as second nature as breathing.

He had a sudden flash to when he was just a boy, learning to ride a horse with his mother. He had gotten frustrated at his inability to ride correctly and he had tried to create a spell to enable him to ride flawlessly and turned to see his mother laughing, her long golden hair hallowing her angelic face,

"Dear what _are_ you trying to do?" He had merely glared at his mother, trying to mimic his father's expression when he was annoyed. This only caused Arielle to smile wider before she told him, "magic, like everything has rules."

"How can _magic_ have rules?!" He had demanded, confident in himself even at such a young age, he was a prince of the realm; there were no rules for him.

"There is logic to magic. Though not necessarily logic as we understand it."

He hadn't understood what she had meant then. Only that he was going to actually have to learn how to ride a horse independent of magic. He understood now, and it was horrifying. Magic's logic, magic's rules, had stripped him of his power when Sarah had claimed that he had no power.

Her will had been as strong as his, greater, and simply with her words he was powerless. He almost laughed at the irony. He had given her special powers when he had fallen in love with her and his gift had become his undoing.

"Oh, Sarah."

He fell to his knees, and then fell forward face down in the snow, letting the blackness and cold consume him, taking the pain. He had lost everything else that was important—what was his life?

Her friends had just left, Ludo hugging her tightly and Hoggle asking if she would visit, she had promised she would even though she didn't even know if it was possible. Sir Didymus had been harder to persuade to leave; she had thanked the knight but insisted that she was going to be safe; he had been doubtful about her security and had begun insisting on staying with her.

Then she had looked in on Toby again, a smile touching her lips as she pushed back a baby curl on his forehead. She loved her brother. She had never loved someone as fiercely as she did him, looking down on his small frame she realized that she would've done anything to save him, she would run the Labyrinth again if she had to. She would use all her power to keep him safe. It was funny how she didn't even think she _liked_ Toby before their ordeal in the Labyrinth. But isn't that what everyone always says? That you don't realize how much something means to you until you almost loose it? She smiled again and was about to turn away from the crib when a strange sensation stopped her.

She felt warmth spreading through her chest. She took a sharp breath, startled by the sudden heat. Then like a match being set her entire body was burning. Sarah felt like she was on fire, she screamed. Toby woke up and looked at his sister sleepily, and as she continued to scream he started to cry. She ran into her parent's bathroom twisting the water on in a panic, jumping into the shower fully clothed, tripping in her haste.

She fell into the tub, a leg still sprawled awkwardly over the lip of the tub, she didn't care, and she just turned her face towards the cold water pouring down onto her. It felt good for a moment, cooling her skin, but it was a superficial relief. The heat was inside her. She began to cry, terrified of what was happening to her body that she had no control over. Before her thoughts were completely formulated she was yelling for the only ones she thought could help,

"HOGGGLEEE! DIDYMUS! I NEED YOU! COME TO ME!" It was the most excruciating pain she had ever felt, searing agony ripping through her body, flames licking her under the skin. She tossed and turned in the tub and was rubbing her arms, as if she could put out the blaze by patting her arms. Not even five seconds later her three friends appeared, Didymus and Ludo looked confused and Hoggle looked downright irritated at first, and then they all realized at once something was wrong. Hoggle rushed to her side grabbing her hand,

"Sarah?!" He looked scared. "Sarah what's wrong?!" She chocked out,

"I'm-m," she gasped, "Bur-burning!" She looked up at him her eyes filled with tears, begging him to help her. Hoggle had no idea what was wrong. Ludo started to moan, at a loss for what to do.

"SHUT-UP you beast! That ain't gonna help 'er!"

"My Lady it will pass in a few minutes, please have courage," Sir Didymus was very calm, not at all as panicked as Hoggle thought he would be to see his 'maiden' in distress, "you are a Severancing."

"WHAT the bloody hells s'that suppose to mean?" Hoggle ground out, irritated that the little fox could be so calm in the face of their friends obvious distress.

The fox thought for a moment about how to explain. "More or less Lady Sarah's body is undergoing a change to accommodate itself--"

"FOR WHAT?" Hoggle interrupted the fox. Sir Didymus looked at him, raising a furry brow pointedly.

"If I could continue_ please_ with no more interruptions I could elaborate." He waited a moment, and then continued, "Somehow the Lady has become—"

"Wait. Please I can't think right now." Sarah begged softly. Didymus, like a true gentleman bowed graciously,

"Certainly, Milady."

The pain had already begun to subside, and Sarah let out a shallow breath. Her body protested as she tried to sit upright in the tub, she ached, but at least she no longer burned. It took her another minute of just concentrating on breathing before she realized the water was still on. She turned it off and grabbed a towel to wrap around herself; her steps were a little shaky so she was grateful when Ludo wrapped a big arm around her, supporting her weight. Toby was still bawling, so she gathered him, holding him almost desperately to her chest, patting his back until his cries slowed and became hiccups and eventually after a few minutes he fell asleep. She turned to her friends, confused.

She was about to ask Didymus all her burning questions when the three of them looked to the bedroom door abruptly and then vanished. The door opened a moment after they left and her father and Karen came in the room.

Her dad just looked at her a bemused expression on his face, "Honey is everything all right?"

Karen went from surprised to angry in about five seconds.

"Sarah! Why are you soaking wet! Honestly what are you doing?" She hissed. She walked over to her and took Toby from her arms, practically yanking him from Sarah's embrace. "My poor baby," she cooed over Toby, though he was still asleep, he squirmed for a moment, then relaxed in the new arms he slept in. Karen looked back up to Sarah, her eyes hard, "you realize you could have gotten Toby sick with you being soaking wet!? You are so irresponsible!" Sarah wanted to grab Toby back and pull out her step-mothers hair.

She was irresponsible when she had just done everything in her power, risked her life to protect her little brother? Her stomach started churning, she really hated her. Karen never understood her, never even tried, and just assumed everything she did was wrong. Sarah just stood there waiting for her step-mother to finish her monologue about how immature and horrible she was. If there was one thing the 

Labyrinth had taught her was that there were times when silence was a more useful response. Karen stopped her tirade a few minutes in realizing Sarah wasn't responding, the girl was in fact standing there quietly, but when she met her step-daughters eyes she felt a shiver of apprehension, they were so cold.

"Are you finished step-mother?" Sarah asked through gritted teeth. Karen just nodded, surprised by Sarah's abrupt change from just a few hours ago. Sarah left the room and after putting on a robe in her bathroom marched off to her bedroom throwing herself down on her bed. She felt a warm hand patting her head, she opened her eyes to see Ludo looking at her with such an endearing expression she lost all her anger. She sat up on her bad, gathering a pillow under her chest

. Didymus jumped up on her bed, Hoggle struggled up unto a taller chair while Ludo just thumped down on the floor. Sarah hoped her parents didn't come to investigate that; she couldn't deal with another encounter with Karen right now.

"So Didymus," she put her hand against her head briefly, a subconscious attempt to keep her mind from going everywhere at once, "could you please tell me what that was about?" The little knight perked up and immediately began to speak, "you Milady have somehow become the receiver of a great deal of power that someone else has lost, and it is called Severancing when another receives someone else's magic." Sarah just blinked.

"I have someone's magic right now? In me?" She put a hand to her chest almost reverently, "How can that be?" The fox just shook his head,

"Magic's logic, my Lady, follows its own rules. Who knows why you received it or from where?" Sarah began to flick her wrist experimentally, a small frown appearing when nothing happened.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to use it. I don't even know how." Hoggle snorted.

"Sarah you'ves already used it!"

"I think I'd remember that."

"When you called us to you! That wasn't no request, you brought us here whethers we wanted to or not," he made a slight grimace, "of course we'd 'ave come though." Sarah thought that explained the annoyed look on Hoggle's face when they first appeared in the bathroom earlier, they had been _summoned_.

"Oh. But this makes no sense! Is this like a prize for winning the Labyrinth or something?" She demanded, not liking not having answers. Nothing came free, and magic wasn't something to be taken too lightly. What was the lesson she had learned so well? _Nothing is as it seems._

"No ways is that some magical prize! The amount of energy I can feel from you is too much for the Labyrinth to just gives out." Hoggle had closed his eyes briefly, feeling the magic energy, looking so serious it surprised Sarah for a moment. Then it just cemented her earlier thought, that magic wasn't something to be taken lightly, especially if Hoggle was taking it so seriously.

"_Sarah" _

She froze. His voice, husky and lyrical was unmistakable. Her body felt strange, almost like the feeling when a limb falls asleep, all tingly.

What was _he_ doing here? She turned her head to the side expecting to see him arrogantly posed against her wall, but he wasn't there.

"Where is he?" She asked aloud. She was not in the mood for anymore games with him.

Hoggle had been speaking to Didymus and looked over at her curiously,

"Where's who?" Sarah looked at him like he was stupid, Hoggle had been Jareth's subject long enough she thought he would recognize his voice when he heard it.

"Did you not hear that? Jareth's here."

"WHAT?" Hoggle jumped up from the chair, looking half terrified and half angry. Didymus cocked his head to the side,

"Milady, I swear I heard not a whisper. Are you quite certain?"

"_Oh, Sarah."_

"There it was again! I Know you had to of heard that!" They all just looked at her, shaking their heads collectively.

"Sarawh, no sound." Ludo protested. And like that it made sense to her. The tingly sensation was getting stronger. Not painful but prompting.

"Jareth's calling me."

**AN: I really like this story I came up, with hopefully you'll enjoy it too as I get it going! It's a lot easier **

**to have the story in your mind though to actually write it out well...feedback is good and it lets me know what I'm doing wrong so I can improve. Thanks! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"_When we __fear__ things I think that we __wish__ for them ... every fear hides a wish"_

"_The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."_

--

* * *

The sun was just rising, a new dawn spreading over the horizon, highlighting the leaves golden. When the faeries awoke, stretching their transparent wings, readying to lay out the morning dew, they were the first creatures in the Labyrinth to feel it; their small bodies crumpling. The larger creatures of the forests began to fidget uncomfortably, some howling. Goblins were not smart creatures by nature but they had acute senses, and they too felt it. They could have hunted and fought well if they weren't so lazy; their cousins the Trolls were examples of what the Goblins could be if they ever applied themselves(and ate human flesh), while not particularly agile, trolls were all brute strength.

The Goblins usually were loud and boisterous, generally due to the consumption of one too many barrels of ale, which generally led to the chasing of chickens or other regrettable behaviors that their King kicked or dumped them in the Bog of Eternal Stench for.

This morning the chickens were watching the Goblins hesitantly, clucking nervously as the Goblins moved slowly and silently around the palace, making no move to chase any of the birds. The palace was eerily quite, no giddy laughter from the goblins, only solemn faces. A young goblin girl was crying to her father, the most sound at all in the palace, and he quickly hushed her. She asked him in a broken whisper why she felt so bad, why it felt like she was empty, she added then that she had already ate breakfast and the pain wouldn't go away still.

The goblin father was a simple minded creature, but it didn't take much to realize that every one of the Goblins in the City was feeling the same way as his daughter; he felt the same way, like their was a void in the center of his gut. He didn't know why they all felt this way. He held his sobbing daughter as he stared at the empty throne.

* * *

"What's that bastard wants with you?" Hoggle shouted his face turning into a scowl. Didymus said nothing, his face looking clearing torn between support of his King and of his Lady. Sarah couldn't believe it! He was so arrogant thinking that she would just come to him; did he think that she would overlook everything that had just happened? Forget him taking her brother? Him sending the Cleaners after her? Him drugging her? _Even though it was you who wished away your brother_, a small part of her whispered. She shook the stray thought from her head.

"I have no idea what he could want," Sarah said, then angrier spat out "But there's no way I'd ever do anything that he wanted!" A few hours ago he had almost _killed _her, now he was calling her? What nerve! Sarah got off the bed and began to walk around the room, she slipped on her slippers and walked over to her dresser to pick up her brush, she beat out a rhythm absently on her other palm with the brush as she paced the room, still angry.

"That Jareth! Thinking he can just do as he pleases! Eh, makes me so mad!" Sarah was on the verge of agreeing with Hoggle when a thought stuck her. She bit at her lip, not really liking the idea...But…

"Sir Didymus?" He looked at her, waiting. She hesitated,

"Wouldn't out of anyone Jareth be able to tell me more about this new magic I have?" She wasn't that afraid of him, she just hated him; but if he could provide her with information about what was happening to her, it would be worth it to go to him. Didymus nodded,

"Yes, not many know about Severancing and such, the King would surely be able to answer any questions you have."

"Are you both crazy?! You just escaped from 'im why go back?"Hoggle demanded, "Whats more, why would Jareth even _want to_ help? 'ave you ever known 'im to be helpful?" there was a brief silence.

"Hoggle if I beat him before without magic I think I can handle myself even better now that I have it," she smiled sheepishly, "even if I don't exactly know what I'm doing." Hoggle just glared at her,

"I don't like it!" Sarah really didn't like the prospect of asking Jareth for anything either, but who else, enemy or not, did she know who was adept at magic? That left her with little options. Jareth would know about it, just like Didymus had said. She looked up at the little fox, suddenly curious.

"Didymus, hey, if not that many know about Severancing how did you know about it?" The little fox looked very proud.

"I was one of his majesties personal guards for many years, and one learns an abundance of information pertaining to magic when one is in such a close proximity."

"Feh! Personal guard? The Goblin King ain't never had no guard I've seen."

"His majesty wasn't always King of the Goblins; I protected him in his youth when he lived as a prince of the first realm." That was news to Sarah; it was hard to imagine Jareth as anything but as a King, without his Goblins and mockery. It was impossible to imagine him as a child. Her thoughts were pulled from Jareth when the tingling increased it's intensity.

"Ugh. This stupid prickly feeling won't go away." Sarah complained, it now felt like her entire body had sleeping limbs, it was annoying.

"You must dismiss the call of his magic." Didymus said easily in response. Like it was that simple, like picking or hanging up a phone.

"I don't know how. " Sarah emphasized each word, irritated, stomping back to flop on her bed.

"Hmmm. Well then I suppose it's good that you decided you wanted to see him." Again Didymus was vague. Sarah thought absently that he just liked being asked questions so he drew everything out. She sighed,

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"If one doesn't dismiss a call, the magic assumes that the recipient has accepted and it will take you to the caller." Sarah's eyes went wide. While it was true that she had stood before Jareth, defiant and bold she had been terrified, despite her claim of no fear.

"WHAT? I'm not ready yet! Yeah I said I wanted to ask Jareth but that's when I decided what to say, when I was more confident about--" her words trailed off in the air and she was gone in a sudden burst of glitter.

"Sarah!"Hoggle jumped too late to where she had just been, grabbing at air. His small chest was heaving, he muttered, "Jareth you had better not hurt 'er."

"I too, though I serve my King most faithfully, worry about the Lady. Shall we return to the Labyrinth and ascertain her safety?" Ludo got up as quickly as his huge body would allow and vanished. Didymus and Hoggle quickly followed suit. Hoggle was shocked that when he finished his Transportation back to the Labyrinth that he was actually within the city itself. He was alarmed; it had never been that easy to reach the castle. Had Jareth wanted them to come here?

After searching the City for an hour, and then bravely entering the castle without a struggle and without Jareth popping up and demanding what they were doing, the trio realized Jareth wasn't in the City or the Castle. Hoggle's uneasiness returned, would Jareth ever leave his castle so easily accessed without even being there?

Hoggle eyed all the Goblins they passed curiously, they all seemed to be sleep walking, barely enough energy to keep moving forward. Hoggle experimentally tapped a Goblin on its forehead and it abruptly fell to the ground, its armor making a loud clatter against the stone floor. Hoggle grimaced at the noise, and then looked down at the Goblin at his feet; he was snoring.

"Gobbblins, fall!" Ludo seemed to find the process of knocking over Goblins fun, he wasn't cruel, more he like a child-beast who thought of it as a game. He had knocked over about five Goblins before Didymus yelled,

"Brother! No, one never attacks a defenseless opponent! That is too dishonorable!" Didymus jumped onto Ludo's shoulder, pulling on his ears like one would pull on horses' reigns. Ludo stopped looking over at Didymus,

"Dees-on orable?" His big head was cocked to the side.

"Yes. Dishonorable. Very good, brother." Hoggle just rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath.

They left the palace, venturing into the lands, searching without direction. It was almost like they had never even stopped their journey through the Labyrinth, now instead of trying to get to the center of the Labyrinth they were looking for their previous companion, they were starting backwards.

They came upon a pack of boars in the forest, while generally passive creatures, they could be suddenly aggressive if scared so Hoggle shouted out to them that they were passing by them, that they meant no harm. There was no response. Hoggle paused, staring at the group of tusked boars, realizing the pack was being unusually slow-moving and all shared an absent expression. They approached them slowly. Hoggle even quickly patted a smaller pig on the head. The young boar glanced at him blankly but made no other move. Didymus was sniffing around curiously. Abruptly Ludo started to cry softly. "Brother what grieves you?"

"Roooocks. Roocks hurt. Rocks friend!" Ludo was howling for the rocks but none came. A few pebbles by huge clawed his foot rattled then stopped shaking almost as if they had lost the energy to move. Ludo bent and picked up the pebbles almost tenderly, cradling them.

"The rocks are hurtin'?" Hoggle asked, Ludo nodded and continued to cry. Hoggle was uncomfortable trying to comfort the beast, he patted one of his big hands. "What the hell is going on 'ere?"

"Every creature, down to the very rocks of the Labyrinth seems to be effected by some malady." Didymus observed.

"Yeah, 'cept us. Everyone 'cept us." Hoggle whispered, confused and a little scared, wanting now to find Sarah more than anything.

* * *

_I guess I have to work on my landing,_ she thought as she spit snow out of her mouth and pushed herself to her knees.

"Snow?" It was just registering. She squinted a bit in the darkness, then a cloud moved past the moon and the landscape was clear. She took a breath, it was beautiful, flat and white and endless. "What is this Antarctica?" The wind kept blowing her hair in her face so she pushed her hair behind her ears with one hand, realizing belatedly she still held her brush in her hand. She took a step forward and almost fell over again; she looked down at her feet. Her pink owl slippers had snagged on a jagged piece of ice, she bent over and carefully pulled it free. As she stood she looked at her hands, they were bare, but they were completely warm still. _What the…magical perks?_

She stepped forward again, not sure about her direction, just walking forward. It felt strange here, it was beautiful yes, and even though her body was still warm this place made her feel cold, isolated. This place was deceptive. She had barely been here a three minutes and she knew that, this place wasn't anyplace someone would seek to come to. That arose the question_, why was Jareth here?_

She looked around, scanning the area for Jareth. Even if he was her enemy he was at least someone. She had no desire to stay here any longer than she had to, but she didn't even know how to get home.

"Jareth!" Her voice seemed strange in this place, small next to the wind. "Jareth!" She kept walking forwards, calling his name. A few minutes later she started getting desperate. Where was he? She felt tears burning her eyes. Was this another cruel trick of his? She started to run, calling him, her voice getting hoarse. "Bastard! My life isn't a game!" She whispered.

She absolutely refused to cry. She took a deep calming breath. _Think, Sarah, think._ She recalled Hoggle closing his eyes to concentrate on her magic in her bedroom. Was it that simple? Just a little concentration? She exhaled and closed her eyes, sitting cross-legged in the snow. _This must look so random_; she thought before she shut out stray thoughts and put all her efforts into focusing. She had to of sat there for a good ten minutes thinking different incantations in her head, even repeating _home, home home, home,_ like some mantra in her head. She was on the verge of giving up when she felt a tug. She opened her eyes, fully expecting to see someone there, touching her. Another tug, pulling her to her feet and pushing her gently to the left.

"What, what is this?" She asked aloud. A whisper, light and almost indiscernible on the wind came to her,

_"Just go. Make haste" _Sarah hesitated only a moment longer. She hurried off quickly in the direction she was tugged.

"Jareth!" She continued to shout for him as she ran forwards, a sense of urgency set in her. She was running when something caught her eye and she stopped, breathing hard. She walked forward, making out his form lying face down in the snow.

He still dressed in the white clothes she had seen him in last, and they, with his pale skin and light hair, easily camouflaged him in the matching snow. What had caught her attention was a patch of dark as she ran, right next to his body. She got closer to him, his figure remained still. She crouched beside him, instantly wary. She cautiously touched his exposed skin at his neck and at once pulled back, he was like ice. She inched closer her hand keeping herself balanced, she yelped when she felt something wet on her fingers, she brought her hand closer to her face and immediately felt bile rising in her stomach at the unmistakable metallic smell of blood.

**AN: Hmmm. Where am I going from here?hahaha. Thank you for the reviews! I love them. Please continue to critique me. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"_Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."_

* * *

"_Slowly imagine the light gathering at your fingertips and release it all at once," the young boy's arms were fully extended in front of him, his hands shaking, "you must maintain your concentration." The older man whispered to him and then stepped away. The boy forced himself to maintain control, knowing he had to prove himself, and as his fingertips began to burn he bit at his lip, refusing to break his building connection. The older man stood aside watching the boy, admiring his diligence, his focused mismatched-eyes. The boy's hair was matted to his sweaty brow, testament to his hard training. He gritted his teeth and felt a wave slide through him, like a hot flash, sudden and brief and when he looked again at his hands he grinned, there was a perfectly formed crystal orb. His first magic. He looked excitedly at his father,_

"_Look! I did it!" His father smiled gently at his third born son. A voice from the corner of the room called out,_

"_You think it's about time? I had already mastered such basic magic by your age. Honestly Jareth, what kind of King do you think you're going to be with such weak powers?" Lucian emerged from the shadows, his long brown hair tied with a leather strap at his nape, a self assured grin on his face as he looked down on his little brother. _

"_Come now, Lucian you were not that much better at Jareth's age. Should I compare how I was at your age now to me? You should far exceed your current power." Terem questioned his oldest son a black brow ached, pleased when he made no reply. Terem looked at his younger son,_

"_Do not take his words to heart my boy. You will make a fine King; just remember to never take for granted anything. All right Jareth?" The young boy nodded, craning his neck to meet his father's eyes, "All right Jareth?" The young boy looked at his father strangely; it was no longer his fathers booming voice coming from his mouth but the soft voice of a woman saying his name even as Terem's lips still moved like he was the one speaking, "Jareth?" The woman's voice was getting more panicked. Suddenly the boy collapsed to the floor as a sharp pain in his back brought tears to his eyes. His kept his face down ashamed to let his older brother or father see him cry. _

"_Jareth! Get up!" _

Jareth moaned. That was definitely not his father's voice. He slowly forced his eye lids open and first saw only white, and then a face started to become clearer in front of him.

"Sarah?" His voice was a hoarse whisper. She leaned over him, her hair encasing him in a private world where it was only the two of them, "why are you dead?" He asked her, wondering absently if this was 

heaven or if they were to spend an eternity in hell together. He didn't really care, he was finally with her.

"Jareth! I'm not dead! You need to snap out of this," Sarah took a breath; relieved that at least he was alive, albeit barely, "I know you're in pain but I don't know how to help you if you don't help me." When she had found him laying face down in the snow she hadn't hesitated to turn him over, hadn't thought about the fact that they were enemies, she could only think about him needing to live; even enemies had respect for each other didn't they? Jareth tried to focus on Sarah's words, finding it difficult to make his mind understand her words.

His mind felt blank and his body was numb and she was looking down on him with her beautiful green eyes, anything past that seemed too complicated to think about. Jareth felt Sarah's hands gently patting over his body, and when her fingers touched his side he groaned in pain. Sarah gingerly pulled up his feathered shirt and gasped at the deep wound on his side, it looked like he had been stabbed. She looked closer at the bloody skin and saw slivers of ice in it; he must have fallen on the sharp ice.

Sarah had no idea what to do for it, but took it was a good sign that the bleeding was slow. She took off her robe, wearing only a thin nightdress now, and wrapped Jareth in it, pushing the fabric firmly against his gash. He moaned again. "Jareth I'm sorry about that. What am I suppose to do now?" Sarah could tell that her words weren't registering to him as he continued to look up her blankly, a crooked smile on his blue lips. "Jareth please!" She took his face between her hands, like holding his head would force him to focus.

Seeing Jareth like this was unnerving, she had never seen him behave as anything but strong and sharp and confident, to see him this, this broken was terrifying. "What am I suppose to do?" She yelled at the wind, "Hoggle! Didymus! Ludo! Please help me!" She tried to focus her power into her call. She kept calling them, slamming her hand into the snow when they never appeared, making a hand-print with his blood. She took a calming breath, and looked down on Jareth, his eyes were closed now. She almost thought he was dead but she could see the faint movement of his chest as he took in shallow breaths.

"_Take hold of his hand. Think of something that warms you." _Sarah jerked her head up. It was that voice from before.

"Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

"_There is no time for this! Take hold of his hand and do what I have said or he will die!" _Sarah hesitated only a moment, but the voice had led her to Jareth before, so she decided to trust it and hoped she wasn't being a fool for trusting in an intangible source. She took his hand, ignoring how icy it was and entwined her fingers in his. She cursed herself for blushing, but it felt so intimate, she had kissed boys in school before but something about just holding his hand gave her shivers, she shook her head to rid herself of such stupid thoughts.

Warm thoughts, the voice had instructed. She began to think of Toby, of her best friend Elle from drama class and their jokes, of her faint memories of her mother before she had left her, a smile inadvertently 

taking her lips. She almost dropped Jareth's hand when she felt him squeeze hers. She opened her eyes to see him looking up at her, his eyes seeming clearer than they had ten minutes earlier.

"How—how are you doing this?" He whispered the most coherent thing she had yet to hear him say. Jareth had felt warmth slowly trickling him. The small rush of energy had felt familiar, and then he realized it was his power. His eyes snapped open and he saw Sarah holding his hand, a small smile on her lips and she gave him energy. She was looking down on him now, the smile gone. He ignored how his hand felt immediately cold when she released his.

"Doing what?"

"How is it that you have my power?" Even as he asked her the question he understood why she had it. _Magic's logic, as those Aboveground liked to say, was a bitch._

"I have your power?" Her voice was faint, she sounded almost in awe, then she looked at him in suspicion, "what are you playing at Jareth? Are you telling me you are powerless right now?"

"Would I be laying here this pathetically if I had power?" He shot out, and then he continued, "When you left the Labyrinth, you left with more than just your brother." He said softly, coughing. He could tell she wanted to ask more questions but she held her tongue instead saying,

"Where are we?"

"This is," he took a breath; it getting harder to speak, "the borderland to the Underground. "

"Why are you here?" She pressed. Jareth wanted to laugh and almost did but the small movement brought abrupt pain to his side, he hissed at the throbbing.

"_Why_ am I here? Because you, my _dear_," he added the endearment almost mockingly, "sent me here." Sarah opened her mouth to argue but at that moment she felt a huge shadow covering her. Sarah looked up and screamed. Silhouetted by the moon was a large black dragon, it's wings sending a flurry of snow at her, instinctively she blocked Jareth from it's sight, realizing at the same time what a futile effort that was.

She was a sixteen-year old girl in a nightdress and pink slippers; the dragon could rip her apart with a snap of its mighty jaws. She stood to her feet, refusing to collapse under the weight of her fear, at this moment, if Jareth was telling the truth about her having his power; she was their best chance at surviving this encounter.

She looked up into the sky, shaking, but meeting the yellow glowing eyes of a predator.

**AN:****WHAT? A DRAGON?bahahaha. Sorry it took so long to update and that it's kind of short, but I'm getting busy. OH and the review that threatened to hurt me if I killed Jareth made me laugh so hard. Please continue to provide amusing and helpful reviews :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"_All the __king__'s horses and all the __king__'s men can't put the past together again. So let's remember: Don't try to saw sawdust.__"_

Jareth looked at her standing with her back to him, his mouth agape, looking very un-kingly in his astonishment. She was protecting him! This tiny slip of a girl was trying to protect him. Sarah Williams was so unpredictable; first she sends him to his destruction then comes to his aid. She looked so delicate, her long hair blowing, her shoulders pale and exposed in the moonlight, but he knew she possessed a backbone of steel; he would know, he had tried to bend her to his will and found her unyielding.

He felt an irrational burst of pride which was abruptly overshadowed by a stronger emotion; anger. She was a fool! He gently lifted himself to a sitting position, wincing at the movement. He glanced at the Dragon, looking annoyed, then looked away and struggled to his feet, hating that his breathing was so labored after such a brief exertion.

"Sarah come here." Sarah turned to look at him. There was no fear in his voice, his tone was easy and light as if dragons were unthreatening and a normal occurrence. Well, she paused, maybe it was. She met Jareth's eyes and was surprised to see anger there; surely it wasn't directed at her? "Now." Sarah had been about to go to him, worried as he started to wobble at bit before he caught himself, but that one added command at the end, the arrogance of it made her so mad.

"You are in no condition to order me about!" The wind suddenly quieted and Sarah glanced to the sky, taking a step back unconsciously as the Dragon flicked its tail creating a loud snap in the new silence of the night. She felt Jareth come to her side, his face expressionless and composed. She felt some of her fear of the Dragon abate at his obvious confidence, she glanced back at the beast cautiously.

The Dragon had spread it wings, the skin of the wings thin, illuminated by the light of the moon behind it, and was coming to the ground, looking fierce as it looked down on her as it came to land. Jareth didn't move so Sarah refused to show fear and step back even as the Dragon landed not seven feet from them. It was then that Sarah saw the Dragon was actually harnessed and lower on his back was two saddles and there on the first saddle sat a hooded figure, reigns in his hands.

The rider shook the snow off their hood before taking it off revealing them self. Sarah really couldn't help herself. She just stared at the man. Did the Underground only consist of beautiful men? He had disheveled black hair, high cheekbones and a defined jaw-line, thin lips, thick lashes that framed dark eyes that in the light she couldn't make out the color of. These eyes glanced briefly over her, giving her gown and wind-blown hair a cool appraisal, as he dismounted. She felt herself blush. Did Jareth know him? The man then looked to Jareth, a small frown touching his lips.

"What are you doing here?" The man asked.

"Must we do this now? I can barely stand." Okay, Sarah thought, so they knew each other.

"Another thing I am curious about. How did you get in such a state?" Jareth glanced briefly at Sarah, as if she explained everything, like it was her fault this had happened. What the hell was even going on? The man regarded her in a frank way that thoroughly unsettled her, while his eyes before had glanced at her in a cursory inspection now they were intently curious, actually looking at her.

"Jareth what was that look suppose to mean!?" Sarah demanded, "I've done nothing but help you since I found you. More than you deserve given what you've done to me." Jareth's eyes lit up.

"Done to you!?" He roared, and then cradled his side when the movement brought pain, then through gritted teeth, "Everything was done according to your wishes!"

"I don't believe I_ ever _wished to have to fight for my life, to be chased and drugged! And if you cared at all for what I wanted you would have given back Toby when I had asked for him!" Jareth glared at her, he was not about to admit he could have given Toby back at any time but had needed an excuse to be close to her. Never again would he tell her something so honest, she was too good at refusing him.

"You can't un-wish a wish Sarah. Words once said cannot be retracted, no magic can change that. Don't act so childish, take responsibility for what you said." Jareth ground out.

"Childish?" Sarah shook her head, "justified anger and fear are the opposite of childish. And me saving your life, tell me, is that childish?"

"You standing up to this dragon," he waved absently to the beast besides them, "was foolish and had nothing to do with me. You like to play heroine. This is just another story for you, a little adventure, well this is real life Sarah, grow up." She felt tears of frustration, how could he be so cruel? Well if he thought she was childish, then childish she'd behave. Carefully, deliberately, she pulled herself to her full height and spit. Jareth stood motionless for a moment then grabbed her face, "careful Sarah, I only have so much patience."

"Damn you and your patience to hell." The rider was just standing there quietly through this heated exchange and he suddenly began to laugh. Jareth glared up at him, releasing Sarah from his grip, wiping his face.

"Quite a spitfire you found yourself here. I'm glad someone has finally decided to stand up to you." The man smiled at Sarah, and Sarah found herself smiling back. Jareth watched this innocent exchange with a frown. Jareth stepped forward shakily, drawing the mans attention away from Sarah,

"Can you be useful already? I grow weary of standing here." The man nodded, looking unabashed and took a step forward, closing the gap between himself and Jareth, eyes closed he removed his gloves and placed his hands on Jareth's exposed forearms. The moment he touched him his eyes snapped open.

"Jareth what the hell? I can't feel anything from you, no flow, almost as if…"

"I had become powerless? Very astute. I have. Now please continue." The man looked bewildered, but once again closed his eyes. A soft light illuminated the palms of his hands and his grip tightened on Jareth's forearms. Jareth's expression relaxed, as he felt himself being healed. After a moment the rider relaxed his hold and opened his eyes, looking relieved. The rider then walked over to the Dragon and patted it affectionately. Sarah felt a second of envy towards the rider, she had had to concentrate so hard to produce even the slightest magic and he had done it effortlessly, then she realized that it _was_ effortless for him, he was a creature of magic, her envy was stupid, it was like getting jealous of a fish for breathing underwater, certain creatures are just born able and made to do certain things.

"That should make you feel better for awhile. I'll summon a healer later who will completely restore you, but I need my own strength to guide Suinaa here home." Jareth slowly pulled the robe that was still tied to him away from his wound, the dried blood sticking the feathers of his shirt to the robe as effectively as glue, but there was no sharp pain, the wound had been sealed, so Jareth ripped the fabric from the feathers in one swift movement, grunting as dried blood tore at the skin a bit.

"Thank you." The words from Jareth to the man surprised Sarah, mighty Jareth actually thanked people! Who would have thought the man had some manners. The rider nodded in acknowledgement, meeting Jareth's eyes and sharing a look she didn't completely understand. Sarah was doubly surprised when Jareth turned to her, the robe folded in his arms and he looked at her, "thank you as well." Their eyes met and Sarah found no trace of mockery in his expression. She nodded, finding that his gaze void of arrogance was unnerving.

"Well let's be off." The rider announced, and Sarah turned back to him, relieved to have an excuse to break eye contact with Jareth. Her eyes widened when she realized their method of transportation, half-excited, half-apprehensive.

"Can we all ride him at once?" The dragon, glanced at Sarah and she almost thought he could understand her.

"Yes. Dragon's are strong creatures, but first this Dragon is female and currently offended that you have assumed it was male." Sarah gaped at the rider; he just smiled and shrugged, "Dragon's are intensely loyal and very easy to provoke type of creature, I'd say 'sorry' if you want a ride anywhere."

"He—I mean she can understand me?"

"Yes, of course." The rider replied slowly, obviously surprised Sarah hadn't realized Dragons could understand her.

"Hello…Dragon." Sarah began awkwardly, "Sorry about me calling you a guy. I'm not really familiar with dragons and how to determine a dragon's sex." Sarah felt stupid talking to the giant beast. The Dragon's yellow eyes met hers for an intense moment then the dragon looked away, looking bored.

"_She says it is fine, all is forgiven. And her name is Suinaa."_

The voice out no where surprised her. She quickly looked to the rider.

"It was you!" He smiled and bowed dramatically in assent. Jareth had his brow drawn in confusion,

"And what is 'it'?"

"How did you…?" Sarah trailed off, fascinated, but not sure what to ask first.

"_How do I speak without speaking?" _Sarah had been watching the rider at this point and his mouth had not moved. Sarah nodded,

"Yeah."

"_This is a gift I receive through my connection with Suinaa, without her I could not speak to you in this way."_

"Thank you for helping earlier. I had no idea what to do." Jareth at this point was irritated.

"_What_ are you talking about Sarah?"

"_It was you who saved him. I merely told you how."_

"Thank you, all the same."

"Sarah what--" Jareth began then understanding dawned on him, he turned to the rider, his lips set in an angry line "are you speaking to Sarah through your beast?"

"Did you not hear him?" Sarah asked.

"No I didn't. You can only communicate to one person at a time; it's not something that is broadcasted. It's a private method of communication."

"Come now don't be jealous, I spoke to her in this manner to save your sorry hide. Be grateful the girl listened to me at all." Jareth made an obnoxious sound and started towards the Dragon,

"I think it's time to be going." With that Jareth approached the Dragon and after a moment gracefully mounted the beast, taking the second saddle. Sarah hesitated by the beast's side, unsure how to mount it or even where to sit. The confusion must have shown on her face because after the rider mounted he looked down at her, after a moment the beast crouched lower in the snow, and he reached down to grab her by the waist and pulled her behind him,

"Hold on tight." Sarah knew she was beet red. This was so embarrassing to be pressed to close to him, a complete stranger, with Jareth only a few inches behind her. She felt Jareth's hand on her side when she tilted to the side as Suinaa beat her wings and began her ascent into the sky; his hand steadied her but remained at her side a few seconds too long. Even with magic flowing through her now keeping her warmer than she would be otherwise, the flight made the cold intensify, and she felt her 

face numbing, her breaths fogging before her. Her shyness gone in face of a greater need, she buried her face in the strangers back, seeking any kind of warmth. She felt his back shake and she realized he was laughing.

"Sorry you two, I forgot how cold it could get up here." Sarah turned stiffly to look at Jareth and she felt a stirring of pity for him, he was holding his arms to his chest, his teeth chattering. When he saw he look he glared at her,

"W-w-what?" He tried to sound scathing, but the cold stutters ruined the effect.

"This probably worse for you, huh?" She forgave him his snappiness given the fact that he was, well, freezing. Certain circumstances permitted one to behave badly justifiably. Jareth didn't answer her, just looked away. "Where are we going?" It occurred to her that she hadn't even hesitated earlier to get on the Dragon, it hadn't even occurred to her to think to ask before just now where they were going. She bit her lip at that, not liking how unsafe that was, to assume that Jareth or the stranger could be trusted. A bit late for that to occur to her though.

"To my Kingdom." The stranger answered Sarah's question even though it had been for Jareth.

"And where is your Kingdom? I'm not sure we can last much longer up here." Sarah asked, trying not to sound annoying, but she was getting really cold.

"Not much further." He assured. 'Not much further' turned out to be a solid two hours. She was grateful when the rider pulled two small blankets from a sack. Sarah eyed the thin blankets speculatively, but whatever they were made of seemed to retain heat surprisingly well. Jareth merely grunted when she passed him a blanket, but he wrapped it around himself quickly enough when she turned back around.

Sarah watched as seemingly endless ice sped below her, when she looked up to the horizon she saw the only smattering of color in the distance, a stark contrast against the endless white. It was a large grey –brown dot on the horizon and as they kept steady pace towards it Sarah realized that was their destination.

As they got closer Sarah saw the grey-brown dot was actually the beginning of a mountain range. The sky was beginning to lighten with the first touch of the sun, coloring the bland landscape in a soft yellow. The mountains were huge with snow covered tops and faint brushes of green foliage struggling to survive on the mountains. The Dragon began to descend, and Sarah almost panicked when Suinna didn't slow as they approached a mountain, but she saw the cave a second before Suinaa flew through it.

Sarah put a hand to her rapidly beating heart, calming herself. Sarah thought that they would dismount as soon as they entered the cavern but Suinna kept flying and in the distance Sarah could make out another opening in the tunnel and the dragon flew through it.

The first thing Sarah noticed was the warmth, she felt like she had just been engulfed in a thick wool blanket, the second thing Sarah noticed was the people below, first looking like dolls and as they approached growing bigger and bigger. Sarah glanced up, seeing endless black. It was a village inside of a mountain, as she glanced around she saw the grey stone façade of a castle carved into the mountain. It was a _Kingdom_ inside on a mountain, she corrected herself. They landed by the castle front, the rider dismounting first and assisting her. Jareth refused assistance, muttering that just because he had lost his power that it did not make him incapable as a man. Suinaa flew away almost immediately.

"Where's she going?" Sarah asked.

"It's too warm in here for Dragons so they keep to their perches built on the outside of the mountains, and it's too cold for us to live out there." A man ran up to the rider, bowing. The man looked strangely at Sarah but his gaze lingered on Jareth, his face confused. He quickly looked back to the rider.

"My Lord, all went well with the traders."

"Good, good. Fetch Miriam and tell her to prepare two baths and make sure Edgar knows about the new training method I discussed yesterday. And call the healer immediately."

"Yes, my Lord." Another bow and the man was off.

"My Lord? Are you a Knight?" Sarah inquired, realizing she knew nothing about the man who had saved her and Jareth's life.

"Yes, of sorts, and I feel rude. Are belated introductions in order?" Sarah stuck out her hand, intending to shake his but when he just looked at her extended hand curiously she realized that he probably had never shaken someone's hand before.

"I'm Sarah Williams." The Knight took her hand and immediately dropped it, his eyes flying to Jareth. Sarah realized just like when he had touched Jareth and felt his lack of power he could feel her abundance of it. She had sat behind him for the past hour…was it only through skin contact that you felt someone's power?

"What in the world is going on here?" The man demanded. Jareth sighed, exasperated,

"Long story that I swear on the Seven Realms I'll tell you after my stomach is full and I can feel my hands." The man looked questioningly at Jareth, and after a long moment nodded. He turned back to Sarah and took her hand again, not dropping it this time but bringing it to his lips gallantly, finishing their introductions.

"And I am Edmund, King of the Dragons."

"King?"

"Honestly Sarah," Jareth sounded bored, "he is my brother."

"Brother?" She parroted, looking from Edmund to Jareth.

"Yes, and I have a father and mother too. Did you think I just sprouted out of nowhere? Or perhaps was always the Goblin King feasting on little children?"

"Ignore my little brother, Lady Sarah, as you can tell he doesn't have the best of temperaments."

"Please, just call me Sarah." It was strange to think of Jareth with a family. He had a brother; he had to understand why she was so outraged that he had stolen hers.

"Feh, younger brother? By but a few hours, and that makes no matter."

"You are twins?" She looked at them both closely, Edmund had clear green eyes, while Jareth had mismatched eyes, she could see the similarities, the same face shape, same lips, and the same unruly hair but that where the similarities ended. They couldn't possibly be twins. "So? You're twins? Paternal or something?" Edmund opened his mouth to answer then stopped and glanced over at Jareth, then looked away, looking at a loss. Jareth raised his brows, and asked her,

"Do you understand the term mistress?"

"Yes I understand what that means." For the first time Jareth smiled but it was more of a smirk than anything else, and it didn't reach his eyes,

"You were right about one thing Sarah, I really am a bastard." It took a moment for her to realize what he meant.

**AN: Man, seriously this chapter just flowed from my fingertips, pretty much just writing itself. I really hope it made sense and that you liked it. Hahah sorry if you were looking for a gruesome dragon slaying/killing/eating/bloody/death scene.**


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